The Beginning Of The End
by iNeedToStop
Summary: Following on from KOTW, what I think should happen :). The earths inevitable destruction is getting closer as Valkyrie and Skulduggery battle with their inner demons. A lot of twists and turns along the way! First fanfic :D T because I'm paranoid. ON HIATUS! D:


A/N: OMG MY FIRST FANFICTION EVER! I'm scared... Anyway, ENJOY :D

(disclaimer: I do not own SP. If I did I would be a man and my name would be Derek Landy. But I'm not and it isn't, I just use his characters as my playthings ;D)

Chapter one

Valkyrie was bored. She was normally bored anyway, but today she was especially bored. Why? Because she and Skulduggery were on a stake-out. In front of a steakhouse. The irony of it would normally have made her laugh, but not today. Why? Because it was a very serious stake-out. Why? Because today is the day, that they capture Tanith Low.

They were sitting in Skulduggery's 1954 Bentley R-Type Continental on the opposite side of the road to the steakhouse, waiting for Tanith and Billy-Rae Sanguine, her boyfriend and psychopathic hit man, to emerge. They had already been waiting for 2 hours by the time they finally came out.

Skulduggery turned to Valkyrie, wearing his facade. Today he had slightly tanned skin with green eyes and dark, chocolate brown hair.

"Now Valkyrie, I want you to get out and follow them, see where they go. Never let them out of your sight. When they get to their destination, call me and tell me where you are and I'll be right there. Do not, I repeat, do not, try to confront them until I get there. Do you understand?"

"Yes Skulduggery," said Valkyrie obediently.

"Good. Now quick! Get moving or you'll lose them!" He said making shooing motions at her.

Valkyrie scowled at him as she got out of the car and pulled up the hood of the new jacket Ghastly had made for her not that long ago. It was the same as her old jacket but with a hood, made out of the same special material, that she could pull over her head to protect her face. Black of course. She stuffed her hands in her pockets as she walked.

Valkyrie followed them down a couple of streets, then once they were far enough away from any main roads, Tanith and Billy-Rae ducked into a back alley and tunnelled underground. Crap, she thought, now I've lost them. She called Skulduggery and asked him to come get her. As she hung up the phone, she didn't notice Tanith and Billy-Rae coming out of the ground behind her.

"Hey Val, long time no see."

Valkyrie turned around quickly and lashed out with a roundhouse kick, which Tanith easily dodged, and retaliated with three punches in quick succession. The first two Valkyrie blocked, but the third caught her on the hinge of the jaw, making her stumble back into the brick wall on the side of the alleyway. As Tanith moved in to take another swing, Billy-Rae stepped between them.

"Now as much as I hate to break up a girl fight" said Sanguine in his lazy Texan drawl "I'm afraid we have a schedule to keep. So li'l darlin', if you wouldn't mind..."

He gestured to her with a set of magic-binding handcuffs. He put them on her and she instantly felt her magic being drained. She tried to fight back but he had a tight grip on her arm. As soon as Tanith put her hand on Billy-Rae's shoulder, they sunk underground.

Valkyrie had been underground before, but the sensation still unnerved her. She was practically blind in the darkness, and all she could hear was the loud rumbling of the earth moving around them. They must have been tunnelling for at least 20 minutes. She started to find it hard to breath, but then they burst out of the ground, and into a large house. She collapsed to the ground as she tried to get her breath back As she looked around, she had the strange feeling that she had been there before. She couldn't remember when but she knew she had. The inside of the house was dark and dusty, there were spiderwebs in the corners, but thankfully no spiders.

They had tunnelled into the living room of the dark house and as she turned her head to look around again, she started to recognise things, like the couch that she was lying next to, the mantle above the fireplace, and then she realised. It's uncle Gordon's house! But she had only been here a couple of hours ago. Why does it look so dark and dusty?

"Hello, my queen of darkness", said a voice from behind her.

Now she knew where she was. This was the house of the ghost of Anathem Mire.

"Well my dear Valkyrie, I guess you're wonderin' what's goin' on here", Sanguine said.

"Not really. I'm guessing that Anathem here hired you to find me and bring me here so that he could keep me captive, kill me, or make me his 'queen of darkness'. Am I close?"

Sanguine laughed nervously.

"Umm, well, yes...", he muttered looking at his shoes.

"Thought so. Now if you wouldn't mind taking these shackles of so I can call Skulduggery, that would be great, thanks."

"No can do li'l darlin', but you see, I've finished my job by deliverin' you here. So I, am outta here."

He then took Tanith's hand and tunnelled away.

"Well well well Valkyrie", said Anathem as he slowly moved towards her. "I have been waiting for this day for nearly four years. And now, you have finally been returned to me." Then his hand struck out, and everything went black.

Twenty minutes ago...

Skulduggery watched as Valkyrie followed Tanith and Billy-Rae from afar. He leaned over to open the glove compartment, and took out a tape, then put it in the cassette slot. The tape was Grace Kelly: a biography. After fifteen minutes of listening, Valkyrie still hadn't called him and he was starting to get worried. She's a big girl now, she can take care of herself he thought. But then fifteen more minutes went by and he decided to call her. He let it ring a few times, then hung up. That's weird, Valkyrie usually picks up after the first ring. He started the car and drove off in the direction they had gone. He was sure he had seen them go down an alleyway along the road somewhere, so he pulled over and walked down the first one he came to. He started looking for clues, anything that could lead him to Valkyrie. Then he saw the cracks on the ground.

"Damn," he muttered as he walked back to the car, and slowly drove away.

Preview for the second chapter: Valkyrie woke up in one of the mansions many rooms, lying on a four-poster bed with deep, blood-red coloured sheets. At the foot of the bed, there was a dress. It was long, poofy and black with beads and lace sown into it. On the floor there was a pair of black heels. I am not wearing those she thought. She heard a slight knock on the door and it opened to reveal her captor, Anathem Mire.

"Oh good, you're awake!" he smiled at her and clapped his hands lightly together. " I see you've found your new clothes-" she interrupted him.

"Kinda hard to miss them seeing as they're right there," she said drily.

"Smart comments like that won't get you anywhere in this household miss Cain," he said, looking at her sternly.

A/N: Aaaahhh, sorry if that wasn't very good, but it was my first fic, like, ever. I really hope everyone liked it and if I get enough reviews I'll update :D

Reviews= virtual hugs 3


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